The Spy Who Loved Me
by justanotherpipedream
Summary: AU - Agent Clint Barton is totally not in love with Toni Stark. Nope, no matter how pretty the resident SHIELD weapons quartermaster gets when she's angry, or what Natasha and Bruce say, Clint is definitely not in love with Toni Stark.
1. The Spy Who Loved Me

Clint groaned as he slowly opened his eyes as the room slowly came back into focus. A blinding light stared back at him as his eyes adjusted to the small dark room.

"You are stronger than your reputation suggests Agent Barton, I'm impressed."

"Why thank you. I can't say the same for yourself though. Small broom closet with a rickety lampshade? I mean I know that the henchman's union probably doesn't pay _that_ much, but I'm sure you can at least get yourself a working lamp…"

Clint braced himself for the inevitable blow as it struck the left side of his face. _Well that one is definitely going to leave a mark._ As he slowly lifted his head once more, he continued to slowly work the ropes tying his arms to the chair behind him, spitting out blood on the shoes of henchman one in front of him.

As the man in front of him growled, moving away from the agent in front of him, Clint examined the room more carefully. _Does every villain seriously have a torture chamber in their basement? How cliché._

"Now now boys, that isn't the right way to treat our _guest_ here is it?"

 _Ah finally, we've leveled up to the boss._ Cold eyes glanced over him, slowly assessing the mark on his face and the blood on the ground.

Clint resisted the urge to shiver. _Don't show any weakness Barton, they'll only use it against you._

"This is your last chance Agent Barton. Give me all the names and dates or you will wish that you were dead."

"It's definitely been a while but I swear I haven't seen Paul, Ringo and John in a long time. What was the last one's name again? I always seem to forget since everyone always chooses John or Paul as their favourite, but I really think Ringo is the underrated one…"

Henchman number two stepped forward, offering up a silenced pistol. Black gloved hands took the gun, pointing it directly at Clint's forehead.

"Any last words?"

Clint stared directly into the barrel of the gun and grinned.

"Next time you get to be the damsel in distress."

A shot rang out as Natasha spun, shooting henchman number two between the eyes. Before henchman number one could even reach for his gun, Natasha's arm shot out, knocking the henchman out cold.

As Clint untied himself from the ropes, Natasha grabbed the pistol from the unconscious henchman, handing it to Clint as he stood up. Clint checked and re-loaded as Natasha checked the hallway.

"You were the one who insisted in breaking in through the vents."

"Yeah well, how was I supposed to know that the villain of the week would actually put lasers and alarms in them."

They methodically worked their way down the hallway and back up the stairs, as they made their way through the mansion, stepping over bodies as they went.

Natasha checked the hallway before throwing a canister. They waited until they head the telltale signs of bodies slumping to the ground and the smoke to clear before continuing. "Don't you remember Budapest?"

"I thought that we agreed to never, ever mention Budapest again."

As they made their way into the study, Natasha quickly moved to remove the ornate painting off the wall to reveal the safe behind it. She placed a small silver device over the combination wheel. It whirred softly as it slowly turned, opening the safe with a click.

"Remind me to ask Toni for one of those when we get back."

Natasha raised an eyebrow at him as she pulled a small black briefcase from the safe, pocketing the device as she closed it.

"You aren't even going to be allowed anywhere near the workshop, much less any gadgets, with what you did to _that_."

Clint winced as he looked at wires that stuck out of his shoe _._ It wasn't even recognizable anymore, the remains of what used to be a frequency jammer stared back at Clint tauntingly, as he mournfully tucked it into his jacket pocket.

 _Well fuck, Toni is going to kill me._

* * *

"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU BARTON."

"Well, at least it's in one piece…."

"WITH DUCT TAPE. YOU WRAPPED IT TOGETHER WITH DUCT TAPE."

Clint only just managed to hold back a grin as Toni waved her arms around in the air, furiously yelling _._ SHIELD's weapon's quartermaster was protective of her tech, and she wasn't afraid to let every agent know it. The two SHIELD junior scientists that had just walked into the workshop slowly backed out and ran while Bruce looked on in amusement in the background.

That jerk.

Okay, to be fair this time it wasn't _entirely_ his fault that the jammer got smashed. The mission actually started out pretty smoothly. Natasha was able to infiltrate the party and let him, Steve and Bucky in through the back entrance.

He had even managed to disable the alarms in the vents - who actually keeps guard dogs in the actual safe?

"…it took me a good _week_ to get the calibration right on that thing…"

Clint winced as he focused back on Toni. _Gorgeous._ She had obviously been working in the workshop for a long time, grease stains were smudged all over her jumpsuit. Her hair was sticking up in all directions, but all Clint could think about was running his fingers through it-

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?"

Clint put on his most winsome smile, "Well you see…"

Toni sighed as she closed her eyes, fingers running through her hair. "No, never mind. I don't want to know what happened to my poor, poor baby."

"If it's any consolation, I saw Clint actually fall out of a vent this time. He really didn't mean to break it."

Clint glared as Natasha breezed into the workshop, two cups of steaming coffee in hand. She handed one off to Bruce, still silently watching everything with amusement, while Toni's eyes widened. Natasha chuckled as Toni cradled the cup to her lovingly and took a long, satisfied gulp.

"This is why you are my favourite Tasha."

Natasha's eyes softened slightly. If Clint hadn't known her for years, and had the amazing skills that he had, being the super awesome agent he was, he probably wouldn't have noticed.

In a life or death situation, Clint knew that his partner would have his back in a heartbeat. He and Natasha have been working together seamlessly for years, and could easily communicate without saying a word. In all other things concerning Toni Stark however….

Clint almost did a double take when he saw Natasha's lips actually twitch upwards into a small grin.

Toni was chattering gleefully as she demonstrated a pretty new garrotte that doubled as a necklace, no doubt personalized specifically for the Black Widow.

"There's no way that Natasha will say no to anything that Toni wants for at least a good week. The garrotte even has a biometric scanner."

Bruce put down his mug as he turned to face Clint, eyes examining him knowingly. Clint quickly turned away to examine the jar of florescent gel that he picked up, a glowing green in the light.

"Why don't you just ask her out to dinner?"

The jar slipped from his grasp as Clint fumbled with it before setting it back onto the counter. Clint pointedly ignored the glares he could feel from across the room, but Bruce could tell that the tips of his ears were a bright red.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

Bruce snorted. "There is no other person in the world that would be stupid enough to break _one_ of the gadgets that she makes, much less _every single one_ just to get the chance to talk to her."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

Bruce pointed out a small pen on the table in front of them. Originally, it was a handy pen that discreetly held the same voltage as a powerful stun gun. It lay on the table clearly snapped in half.

"There is no way you 'accidentally' broke that by falling on it."

"Okay, I _may_ like watching Toni when she goes on her rants…"

"That is the biggest understatement of the year."

"But that's it! That's our thing! I snark, she snarks. I break her things, she tries to light my hair on fire. Rinse, recycle and repeat."

Bruce looked like he was about to say something, but suddenly straightened and grinned. Clint raised an eyebrow, but Bruce shook his head, eyes focused behind Clint's shoulder. Curious, Clint gave in and turned around to look.

Agent Bucky Barnes was seated at Toni's station, smiling up at Toni as she gently examined his metal arm. She chattered away excitedly, telling him all about her newest upgrades for his arms as Bucky listened, eyes warm. It had been a few months since Bucky was rescued from the Hydra base, and only a few weeks with the new arm that Toni made for him.

In that time, it was a surprise to everyone that Bucky and Toni became fast friends. It eventually became common for SHIELD agents to find Bucky hanging out in the workshop, playing with the bots as Toni worked. They help ground each other, Steve admitted to Clint as they sparred in the training room one day. Both of them are in their heads too much sometimes, and they are able to pull the other one out of that dark space when needed.

 _How he somehow got invited to the exclusive Toni and Natasha brunches, I'll never know,_ Clint sulked to himself. _Not even Steve was able to get an invite to the coveted affair…_

Toni was still waving her arms and a screwdriver in the air when Bucky caught Clint watching from across the room.

 _That bastard._

Bucky, stared directly into Clint's eyes, smirking as he leaned in closer to Toni. They were too far to hear, but Bucky's Brooklyn drawl was inescapable as Toni lit up and burst into laughter. Bucky leaned in, whispering something in her ear as she turned a bright red.

A dark anger filled Clint's stomach as he watched, fists clenching. _Steve and Bucky already stole the SHIELD pool championship. There is no way in HELL Clint was going to let him take this too._

Clint stomped over to the giggling pair, gently holding onto Toni's shoulder as he walked in front of her. Clint grasped her cheeks gently, but firmly, with both hands.

Toni blinked as she stared up at him, "What are you doing Barton?"

"You and me always make a great team together, but I think that we could be something more."

Toni's jaw dropped as her cheeks turned an even brighter red, "W-w-what are you saying Barton? Is this some sort of joke?"

Clint's eyes softened as he brushed a hair out of her eyes. "I'm saying that I like you, and I've liked you for a while now and couldn't figure out how to ask you out. You know I'm not that clumsy right?"

Toni eyes widened. "What?"

Bucky snorted beside them, "He's like the boy on the playground who pulls on his crush's hair because he doesn't know how to talk to her."

Clint glared over at Bucky before nervously glancing back at Toni. "I'm sorry that I've been stupid, but apparently when it comes to you I can't think straight. Will you go out on a date with me?"

Toni blinked, examining Clint's face carefully. She nodded slowly. "Alright, fine. One date and we'll go from there."

Clint grin split his face as he smiled back at Toni.

"But, break another one of my things on purpose, and you'll regret having me upgrade your bow Legolas."

"Deal."

"Finally."

Clint turned to look at Bucky in surprise. Instead of anger or jealousy, Clint was surprised to see that Bucky was gleefully leering at them.

Both Toni and Clint startled, as Bucky gave a whoop of joy, running out into the hallway.

"I WON THE POOL! HE FINALLY GREW A SPINE AND ASKED HER OUT! PAY UP BITCHES!"

Groans could be heard from across the hallway. Bucky wandered back into the room, holding a pile of cash, Steve following him glumly. Clint and Toni just stared Steve shuffled in guilty.

Steve looked at them smiled, "I'm so happy for the both of you-"

"He's just sulking that he lost the bet by a day" Bucky cut off cheerfully, dividing his stack in half and handing it over to Toni.

Both Clint and Steve head swivelled, staring at Toni, jaws dropped open.

Toni looked back at them and smirked, "What? If I'm a part of this pool, I figured that I should at least make some money out of it."

She fanned herself with the stack of money, grinning "Besides, at least this way we won't have to pay for our date."

Clint cackled maniacally, "I love the way you think. Coffee?"

Toni laughed as she grasped Clint's arm, waving to Steve and Bucky as they wandered to the coffee machine.

* * *

 _2 weeks before_

"You're kidding!"

Bucky and Toni howled with laughter, as Natasha calmly sipped her mimosa. Other people glanced over at the trio, but quickly looked away as Natasha met their stares on directly.

" So during your mission in Budapest, you and Clint kissed but it was the worse thing ever?"

Natasha nodded, raising an eyebrow, daring them to continue laughing. "We tried it out, but…it was pretty awful. We agreed never to do it again and have remained friends ever since."

She looked carefully at Toni, "I know what I'm saying when I say that I'm certain that he really does like you Toni. The only reason I told you this story is so you know you have nothing to worry about."

Toni suddenly found her waffles the most interesting thing in the world. Bucky wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Don't worry doll, I've got the _perfect_ plan to get you and Robin Hood the date _and_ win the betting pool…"

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this short Ironhawk one-shot! I may write more in this verse if I'm inspired, but for now this one is done. Let me know what you think!


	2. From Russia With Love

Steve winced as another HYDRA agent flew through the wall behind him. _Why did Fury agree to put our squad on the rotation_ _ **tonight**_ _of all nights?_ Steve glumly ducked under the hook punch before taking out the group that rushed him. Steve hurried to find Clint, following the trail of bodies down the hallway.

Clint felt a satisfying _crack_ as the HYDRA guard he punched in the jaw slump to the ground as he continued to clear the building. _Stupid HYDRA and their stupid date-ruining-plans._

It's been two months since Toni had _finally_ agreed to go out with him. But every single time they set plans, the universe laughed and gleefully stomped on each and every one.

Dinner at Mario's? No, not according to the killer robots storming the streets.

70's night at the roller rink? Cancelled due to the rampaging dinosaurs that fell out of the sky.

Hot dogs at Coney Island? A giant kraken decided to terrorise the port.

And tonight of all nights was _supposed_ to be movie night. Clint had even went all out, popping all the popcorn on the stove and bought all of Toni's favourite movie snacks. Just as they were about to settle in and start the movie, Clint screamed as he got the call for the 'emergency' mission. In Russia of all places.

Clint continued to furiously vent his frustrations on all the HYDRA agents in his way. Steve winced at another loud yelp as Clint broke another HYDRA agent's arm.

He was about to knock out the last one when he felt a tug on his wrist, stopping the punch midway. A flash of red hair darted in front of him, stopping him from knocking the HYDRA agent out cold. Natasha's eyes flashed at him in warning Clint saw the flash of a metal arm roughly grabbing the fallen agent in front. Bucky dragged the agent across the room, securing the sneering man and tying him to the chair in the corner.

"We need this one conscious."

Natasha glanced over at the console in the center of the room. Clint let out a sigh as he dropped his arm, walking towards Sam who was scanning the console and the screens in front of him cursing.

"What's wrong Falcon?"

Sam grimaced. "A lot of it is in Russian, so I'm not a hundred percent sure, but from what I can tell this isn't good. Widow?"

Natasha quickly took over, fingers flying across the screen. Images blurred as they went by, and Clint tried to make out what he could with the limited Russian he did know. Clint cursed as the name Stark flashed back at him on the side of large shipments of weapons crates.

"I thought that we had gotten back all of those stolen Stark weapon caches."

"Well apparently we didn't. Director Stark is going to be furious."

Clint rubbed his hand over his face, a headache slowly forming. Even after retiring fully from SHIELD to focus on Stark Industries, Howard had made sure that Stark Industries made weapons only for the military and SHIELD and fought hard with the board to retain that exclusivity.

Of course, that didn't stop HYDRA from going in and stealing what they needed.

"Clint."

Clint's eyes snapped immediately to Natasha. She had turned pale as her fingers tightened on the keyboard. Clint's eyes jolted back to the screen, swearing at the security footage in front of him. Stills of Toni filled the screen; pictures of her and Pepper leaving Stark Industries, of Toni and Howard at a gala.

His stomach dropped as his eyes fixed on the most recent image. It was five hours ago, of Toni walking towards her car in the empty SHIELD parkade.

Clint fumbled with his phone as he called Toni. "Pick up, pick up, pick up-"

 _Hi, you've reached Toni! If you're Pepper, no I'm not hiding from you-_

"Fuck!"

Clint hung up as he dialed back again.

 _Hi you've reached Toni-_

A sharp laugh rang throughout the room. Everyone's heads swiveled to the man tied up in the corner. He spat out blood before grinning, the dark red staining his teeth as his eyes glinted back.

"You're too late. Hydra has already retrieved the asset. We've won."

Clint surged forward, suddenly in front of the bloodied man, gripping and shaking the man hard.

"Where did you take her? I swear, if you don't tell me right now-" Sharp laughter cut him off before Clint punched the man multiple times. As the man in the chair wheezed, Bucky wrapped his arms around Clint, pulling Clint away.

"Hey I know, I know. But we're going to need him conscious if we're going to get anything out of him."

Clint slowly slumped as he felt the arms around him relax. Steve was on the phone in the corner quietly, speaking in cold , clipped tones.

The HYDRA agent slowly lifted his head as he stared back up at Clint, meeting his eyes dead on. Clint felt a cold dread pass through him. Bucky's eyes narrowed, but before he could open his mouth, the agent in front of them smirked.

"Hail Hydra."

Before Clint or Bucky could reach him, the HYDRA agent bit down hard before slumping over and convulsing in the chair. Natasha reached the agent first, cursing as he was already collapsed with foam dripping out of his mouth.

"He's dead."

Bucky swore loudly in front of them before punching a wall, leaving a large dent. Clint's eyes snapped to Steve, fingers clenching the phone tightly as he continued to yell in the phone. Steve hung up before marching over.

"She was taken in the parkade early this morning. They noticed about an hour later because she was scheduled to meet Rhodey and Pepper for an early breakfast before a meeting. JARVIS was finally able to activate one of the trackers she had on her, and they are sending us the coordinates now."

The team sprinted outside as a SHIELD quinjet landed outside. Coulson ran out to meet them as a group of SHIELD agents swarmed the facility. "We've got this covered. I've programed the coordinates in the jet already. It seems to be an off the grid a few hours from here but I would be cautious, they seem to have higher security in this facility."

Coulson pulled out a small usb stick, pressing it into Steve's hand. "Plug this into any of the mainframe computers and I should be able to give you some eyes on the inside. After we secure this facility, I'll set up and get ready."

Steve nodded his thanks as they all rushed into the plane. Natasha firmly held Clint back as Bucky took the pilot's seat. Clint slumped into his seat, glancing at Natasha in gratitude as he stared out the window. Steve gripped his shoulder gently and squeezed.

"Don't worry, Toni is one of the toughest, smartest people I know. By the time we get there, she'd probably already found a way to break herself out."

* * *

Not only did Toni break herself out by the time the team landed, she had cheerfully destroyed all the stolen weapons caches with glee.

For a moment, the rest of the team stood there in shock as Toni punched another HYDRA to the ground. The last one tried to surprise her, but she curled and used the momentum to twist her legs around his neck, slamming his head down into the ground.

The facility was burning around her as she stood up slowly panting, with blood dripping down the side of her face as she grinned brightly at the team. Clint started marching quickly towards the small genius.

"Nat! Nat! Nat! IT WORKED! DID YOU SEE THAT? IT WORKED-"

Clint cut her off, pulling her tightly into his arms. The team chuckled as they let out signs of relief. Steve and Bucky moved to secure the perimeter and make sure there wasn't any enemies remaining. Sam gaped as he stared at the still high flames burning around them. Natasha's eyes were warm as she moved to the side to report to Coulson.

Clint's hands were everywhere at once, scanning every injury, bruise and cut that Toni received.

Clint felt like he was punched in the gut again as Toni smiled brilliantly up at him. He let out a shaky laugh as he pulled her tight in his arms, letting go quickly as Toni wheezed.

"They got my ribs a bit, and I'm starting to get dizzy, but other than that I'm fine. That should teach em' to mess with a Stark."

Clint gently pulled her to the jet, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. He let out a shaky sigh as he sat next to her. Clint felt Toni grasp his hand, giving it a tight squeeze.

"We missed date night _again_ , which I am super mad about and I still can't believe you haven't seen Labyrinth yet. But, we're here, we're alive and _we're fine._ "

Clint gripped her hand tighter. "We're fine."

Toni smiled up at him. "We're fine."

Toni brightened. "Besides, now Tasha and Bucky owe me brunch for a whole _month_ because I totally _was_ paying attention to their training and definitely _not_ getting distracted…"

Clint coughed as his cheeks burned a bright red. Now that he thought about it, he _did_ remember falling on his face more often a few months back every time he and Steve were sparred in the practice room. And okay _maybe_ that was because Bucky and Natasha were working with Toni on the other side of the room, but how was he supposed to concentrate when _she stared at him like that._

Toni watched him closely smirking as he looked away. "Besides, now we can go on our date!"

Clint's eyes narrowed down at her. "Of course. _After_ we head to SHIELD medical."

Toni pouted. "But Clinnnntt I'm totally finnnnee."

Clint stared at her before poking her in the side. "Ribs remember? Plus, we should get that cut stitched up."

Toni sighed resignedly as she leaned into Clint's side. "Fine, fine."

Clint lifted her chin gently, lips pressing against hers softly then more insistently as Toni deepened the kiss enthusiastically. As they pulled away, Clint's eyes glinted.

"Don't worry, I think I have something to make up for the worst night ever."

Director Fury paused as he walked into the room. Five remaining HYDRA agents that had managed to escape the burned down facility were tied up and dumped into individual cells. A giant, towering stack of paperwork sat on top of the desk on the side of the room.

Fury pulled the note off the wall beside it, pinned to the wall with an arrow.

 _From Russia with love. Don't call us for the next 48 hours or the next time Agent Barton is assigned a mission, or I get kidnapped, I will make sure this pile is doubled._

 _-TS_

Fury banged his head on the desk as papers flew around him.

* * *

 _ **[**_ **4 months ago** _ **]**_

Toni collapsed in exhaustion as Natasha and Bucky looked down at her.

"You've done it. You've killed me and I can't get up. Tell Bruce I want him to be the one to finish all my experiments."

Bucky snorted before hoisting her up onto her feet. "Come on doll, you can do it. Me and Nat aren't going to always be there to cover you. You've got this, you're just distracted."

Toni glanced quickly over to the other side of the gym. Steve and Clint were sparring on the other side, not holding back as they circled each other. Toni's eyes snapped back, but Bucky and Natasha only smirked at her knowingly before looking at each other.

"Well, if you are going to be distracted, you're going to have to work through it."

Toni's eyes widened before groaning as she pulled her hands up, moving into a fighting stance. Natasha's eyes glinted back at her before moving into attack again.

Clint staggered back as Steve clipped him in the side of the face. Clint had turned instinctively as he heard twinkling laugh from the other side of the room. Steve grinned at him knowingly as he peered over at Bucky adjusting Toni's stance as she faced Natasha across the room.

Before Steve could say anything, Clint glared at him.

"Don't say **a word**. Let's go again."

Steve laughed as Clint launched himself at Steve more aggressively than before.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed that addition! Let me know if there is anything else you want to see in this verse!


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